The Sun. — London, England, 1864-12-12 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. THE " SPECTATOR" ON GEN. SHERMAN'S MARCH. --The details of the American war do not often excite the imagination. The vast extent of territory over which the conflict is spread, the length of time it has lasted, the absence of any commanding genius on either side, the failure of both armies ever to follow up success, and the snippety style of Amen. can reporting, often eloquent and honest, but always incomplete, all tend to diminish the interest of even the most striking events, and little incidents it has been almost impossible to follow. Military men, we believe, affirm that there never was a wa r which taught soldiers s o muc h, b u t t o the public tnere has seemed something essentially and strangely un dramatic in the whole course of the war. At last, however, we have an episode calculated to make men who are not Americans draw their breath. 'There has scarcely occurred in modern warfare an incident more exciting, more replete with the elee merits of true interest, surprise, suspense, and magi. nitade of possible result than the march of General Sherman from Atlanta to the East Coast. That able officer, the only one of the Northern side who has yet kept a great army in movement over a long period of time without suffering a reverse, has settle ally undertaken, without a line of communications, to carry an army of 60,000 metin3so miles through a country tropical in all essential characteristics, in habited by an organised people of the same race as his own soldiers, and pled ge d, as a ll men b e li eve , t o resistance to the death. He plunges, as it were, Into space, and space filled with threatening appear. anus, projects his army like a shell over a continent, resolved only that, after a march as long as from Edinburgh to London, or, to use a better illnstra• tion, from Benares to Calcutta, to will come out victorious at the other end. The difficulties in the way of such an enterprise are almost indescribable, General Sherman has first of all to keep 60,000 men n incessent movement for at least thirty days, overthrowing or evading whatever may cross his path, and this in a semi-tropical land, where every undulation is a hill, every copse a forest, every sun-crack a ravine. He has during all that space of time to keep them fed, for though he can carry biscuit and coffee, and that not easily, the bis cuit required alone amounting to 1,500,000 lbs, or 1,500 cartloads, he can carry nothing else, and if he attempts to keep American soldiers on bread and coffee alone his camp will very soon be a hospital, and his men useful only when the prospect of actual battle gives them unnatural strength. Then he has to carry his sick, in itself a most perplexing pro. blem. In a march like this, besides the ordinary sickness incidental to a town with a population of 50,000, besides 01 the men struck down by fever and dysentery and the incidents inseparable from - vast crowds of men and beasts and carts in simul taneous movement, every footsore soldier is a sick soldier, and whatever his rate of progress—and he must move quickly—men will be dropping out at every mile. They cannot he left behind even if the General were the man to leave them, for the prate tice demoralises the soldiery, makes them dread every exertion which may entail a few hours' ill ness, every risk which may bring a wound. There Is nothing for it but to carry them, and in so tre mendous a march they will be among the most serious and embarrassing of impedimenta. Then there is tho ammunition, not only to be carried but to be spared, for he can get no more till he reaches the sea, and powder and bullets must be served out as if they were made of gold, the severest test that can be applied to the discipline of an army, lithe men once suspect there is deficiency there is an end of order, for though individuals might be trusted, no body of men without powder will advance on enemies with it. Finally he has, while advancing through an enemy's country and irritating its people by the organised plunder necessary to feed his men, to secure rapid, minute, and trustworthy informa tion, without which his soldiers must be for 30 days permanently on the alert, i e., driven wild with fatigue, excitement, and want of rest. Only a sin gular combination of circumstances could make such an enterprise a hopeful or even a possible one, and such a combination we are inclined to believe exists. General Sherman is in the first place in command of the best army the North has as yet produced, the only one which can be said to have had long experience in fighting and marching at the same time, the only one which can be relied on to move, as regular troops sometimes will, on restricted rations supplied by chance. His force has been eole lected for nearly a year, during the 'whole of which time it has been accustomed to act together, has been Incessantly " on service," and has learnt to under stand its General's qualifications and its own power. The mere fact that General Sherman could make the attempt at all, could plunge into the wilds without supplies, could require la's soldiers to give up tents and feed on bread alone, is clear proof of his ascend ancy and their obedience. His march, moreover, is through a semi-tropical region, i e., a region " sparsely" settled, in which population is aggre gated in smell villages placed at long intervals, in which there are no great cities, and over which the collection of armies is a very difficult and exceed ingly tardy process. These circumstances, more. over, though they make the collection of food more tardy, render it also more easy, the isolation of each knot of people making resistance almost hopeless. If indeed he burns all he does not want, he may by driving men to despair provoke the despairin g re sort fteeuregard dills on them to employ—the re moval, namely, of all cattle, all crops, and all sources of food into the hills, whence they cannot be ex tracted without too much loss of time. We cannot, however, believe that General Sherman has sanc tioned a policy so fatal not to the Confederates, but to the discipline of his own army. The man is a soldier, and an able one, and no able soldier ever yet permitted troops whom he could pay to obtain a taste for unlimited license and destruction. Ho might as well reduce them to a mob at once. The loss of barns and houses over a route of 30 miles broad cannot cripple a State like Georgia, and it can and will send every white man into the field as an irreconcilable and most dangerous guerilla, while the practice invariably throws the army which com mences it "out of hand." It has already ruined the guerilla cavalry of the South. His own order die recta destruction only wh en " b ush whackers " assail IT army, and it is his subordinates' interpretation of his order which will work or prevent the mischief. The negroes of course ho will gather up as he would any other allies, and it is in the existence of this class that the prospect of success in his daring expedition chiefly lies. Tne peasantry of the country, the actual workers and tillers, are, on the whole, on the in. vaders' side, and if not irritated by an insane de struction of their subsistence as well as their masters' will supply all deficiencies. There are no beasts of burden like willing men. They can carry the sick, drive on the cattle, keep the camps clean, ix., healthy, and bring in the only vital information, the neighbourh oo d o f cava l ry, while the dread of their sentiments spreads through the white inhani tants that sense of th e a b sence of unanimity which is so fatal to a despairing defence. Moving through a vast half-populated but fertile region, in which there are no centres and one half the population is favourable to the invader, General Sherman, unless resisted by armies, has in fact nothing to overcome except the natural difficulties of distance, which cannot be altered, of the rivers, which are few, and of the climate. which he is encountering at the best season of the year. But will he not be arrested by armies ? The question is one hard to answer in this country ; but comparing carefully the facts before the world we, on the whole, think he will not be. Where is the army to come from. General Sher man before he quitted Atl an t a h a d mos t a d ro itl y suffered General Hood to begin a fool's dance towards Tennessee, which renders it impossible for that officer to turn on his track without exposing his rear to General Thomas, who at present is leading him further and further away. Hood may possibly by a series of successes retake Tennessee, though we doubt it, he having only 61,000 men "in his des pertinent," i.e, in three States two armies and four or five garrisons ; but that will not hinder General Sherman's march any more than the seizure of Por tugal would have stopped Wellington's advance on Toulouse. As for General Beauregard's proclama tions about coming assistance, he is simply whistling like a boy in the dark to keep his courage up, His men cannot travel in balloons, and without them how is he to march from Corinth to Clinton, 320 miles in an air line, in time to catch up a force pressing forward at 15 miles a-day. Southward there is no force strong enough to arrest him even if Mobile were abandoned, and northward there is only General Lee I Tuz ,t :T. — - , XOSINER'' ON TROTTING TOO FAST. — On Monday la s t i t e h b e driver of a Hansom cab was charged, at Mary knocking, with occasioning the death of a woman b yher down et the corner of Park-street and High- 8 police.co t u r s e . e a t, _Camden-town. The first witness, a . park t : t ie, deposed to seeing the cab come along eta furious and turn the corner, the horn trottingMr Yardley rate. On is snterposed— which the magistrate pi gotog at h a t, you can't say that a 'hors) trottinyg'im furious pane." '1 hereby evidently unless a horse be galloving, it (Linnet ha paid that he is going at a furious, that is an ezczseiva p"c a , The qui4 rcilindEr of the witness Was that the horse was going ahnut 12 miles an honr ; an d another policrean stated that he saw the prisoner, w ho had previously br,asti:d of having a horse that " could go," mount his salt ant! drive away "furiously" towards Park-street. We all know that many horses can trot 12 miles an hour, and even more ; and hundredsof Hansom cab horses will trot at that rate, at least for a short distance. In truth the question of trot or gallop would be a very inadequate test of speed. Many of the Lon don cab horses, owing to foundered feet, weak loins, or other defeete, bar) not a trot in them; the only pace left them being a gallop, or rather a canter of perhaps five or six miles an hour; and it would be as absurd to charge the drivers in such cass with furious driving because their horses wer 3 gelloping as it is to excuse excessive speed bee it se it has been attained under the more soberly-sounding de signation of trotting. In the case of railway vans, again, the horses drawing them are a:ldom if ever seen in a gallop, but the drivers are constantly animadverted upon, and often punished, for their furious and reckless speed. The question, therefore, is not the particular nature of the horse's action, but the degree of speed at which he is going, whether it be sufficiently moderate to enable him to pull up when his further progress becomes dangerous, and also to enable a person of ordinary precaution to keep out of his way. And surely Mr Yardley cannot think that twelve or even ten miles an hour would satisfy these conditions in the crowded tho roughfares of London and its suburbs. We really think that Mr Yardley is bound to take an oppor• tunity of retracting his observation, and the infe rence to be drawn from it. We have no fear of its being drawn into a precedent by his brother magi. strates ; for their worships carry their sense of inde. pendence so far, that each seems to make a point of framing his decisions so as to differ as widely as possible from those of his conferes. But our friends the cabmen will very naturally quote Mr Yardley's dictum as authorising any degree of speed, provided the horse be kept to his legitimate trot, and be allowed to break out into a gallop, and the next old woman who is knocked over in Camden Town, or elsewhere, must comfort herself with the reflection that it was done by fair trotting ; and that the horse's feet, though they may have con. signed her to the hospital or the grave, were never all off the ground together. THE " SATURDAY RETIEw" ON SIR GEORGE LEWIS —A meeting which was lately held for the purpose of for mally opening a monument to Sir George Cornewall Lewis required no immediate notice, because, although the prine cipal speaker was a member of the Cabinet, all political discussion was carefully avoided. Not only monuments themselves, but the ceremonies with which they are dedi cated, ought to bo exclusively personal. When a church, or a hospital, or even a painted window, is erected as a me morial, the purpose of utility or of decorative art reduces to a secondary place the sentiment of gratitude or admiration. It is as improper to advocate political theories in a funeral discourse as to combine a monumental column with a chim ney. The soundest opinions may be held by the worst or the weakest of men, who have nothing else in common with wise and virtuous statesmen. Those who were personally attached to Sir George Cornewall Lewis have every reason to be satisfied with the honours which have been paid to his memory. The House of Commons formally recognised his death as a public loss, and the general regret of the com munity found suitable expression in the discriminating eulogies of many public speakers and writers. Although his career had scarcely brought him within the sphere of general popularity, the unusually consistent testimony of competent observers disclosed one of those simple and equable characters which command English esteem and ad miration almost more certainly than brilliancy in act and word. The dead are exempt from the drawback or reaction which awaits those of whom all men speak well. It would, indeed, have been impossible for an enemy to attack his re. putation, and there was no enemy to try the experiment. Mr Disraeli spoke of one of his most formidable adversaries in terms of generous praise, and Mr Gladstone, having occasion to quote Sir G. Lewis's opinion in support of a disputed proposal, described him, in the proverbial phrase of Virgil, as the justest of all men, and the most scrupulous in his respect for right. The customary honours which are paid to those who have deserved well of their country have beonliberally awarded. A bust in Westminster Abbey and a statue in the city of Hereford represent with more or lees fidelity his outward appearance. A monument which seems to be more impressive and appropriate has re cently been erected in his native county of Radnor. In London, memorials to the dead, like almost all other objects, are dwarfed and lost in a crowd. The Hereford statue, which was opened by Lord Palmerston two or three months ago, commemorates Sir G. Lewis's temporary connection with a county which afterwards declined to re-elect him, The desire to repair the slight was creditable to his friends and political supporters, and they had the spirit and the good fortune to entlist Lord Palmerston in their service as the chief performer in the ceremony of opening or dedica tion. From the account of proceedings at Radnor, it ap pears that, in the neighbourhood where Sir George Lewis and his family have lived from time immemorial, no poli , - tical feeling interfered with genuine regard and admiration, naturally heightened by praiseworthy local pride. It would be difficult, perhaps, to justify on abstract grounds the in crease of self-esteem which depends on the consciousness that a great or good man lives in the same county or the same parish; but the complacency of re&cted merit serv es a useful purpose in providing willing and effective guar dians of the shrines or temples of indigenous saints and and heroes. The small county of Radnor well deserves to emerge for once from comparative obscurity or retirement, both as the home and birthplace cf an eminent man, and because it has felt and discharged the duty of doing honour to his memory. At the meeting cn Wednesday week judi cious arrangements appear to have been rewarded by de served success. The parts in the ceremony were happily I distributed, and the speakers did justice to the occasion and to the subject of their discourse. There was fortunately an excuse as well as a reason for excluding all political ele ments. It happened that Sir John Walsh, who represents the county both as member and as Lord Lieutenant, has always belor ged to the Cons , .rvative party. His speech was perfectly free from any controversial bias, and it contained in a short compass a just and able summary of Sir George Lewis's career. He was first known as a scholar, and, as Sir J. Walsh observed, ho would perhaps have been thought in his youth fitter for a professor's chair than for the conduct of public business. When, however, he succeeded his father in the Poor Law Commission, he proved that his patience and industry, his even temper, and his calm judgment were as:applicable to the details of administration as to philological and historical inquiries. The additional qualities which were required when ho rose to the rank of Minister were also a part of his moral and mental constitution. Sir John Walsh expressed the opinion which prevailed among all parties in the House of Commons when he descr bed, as the test of Sir G. Lewis's capacity for Government and for Parliamen tary success,his power of acquiring confidence, The reasons for reposing trust in a statesman are various, but the indis pensable condition is sincerity, combined with a healthy intellectual conformation. Even a faint mixture of char latanism, even an occasional propensity to the cultivation of crotchets, prevents either a deliberate assembly or a political party front feeling at ease in the presence of a debater or a leader. Passengers object to steersmen who try uncertain channels, or who show their wit by going too near the shore, It is extremely disagreeable to practise perpetual vigilance, and to bo prevented from relying tranquilly on that authority in matters of opinion which aro analysed in one of Sir G. Lewis's Essays. It is but respectful to the spectators in Parliament or in the country, to display the foundations of a political measure, and to point out their fitness to sustain the practical superstructure; but the task is greatly facili tated when men take it for granted that the architect understands his business. Sir G. Lewis never hid a fl tw with plaster, and was incapable, even in the most insignifi cant part of the building, of trying to balawe a pyramid upon its point. Lord Clarendon, as Sir G. Lewis's near connexion and colleague, accepted in a singularly graceful speech the tribute which had been paid to the worth and services of his friend. He repeated and confirmed Sir John Walett's statement that no man had ever been more remark able than Sir G. Lewis for his devotion to truth. His simplicity and manliness of nature deprived him of all in ducement to take any advantage of an opponent, or even to profit by a misconception. There were no mysteries or puzzles in hie language or in his proceeding, and he pos sessed two important securities against all temptation to insincerity, in his freedom from vanity, and in his keen and enjoyable sense of humour, Love of fame was no infirmity of his mind ; and, except as far as the opinion of others might involve substantial benefit or disadvantage, he pro bably never considered for a moment what was said about him in his absence. The hearty amusement which he derived from watching the little contrivances and affecta tions of others would alone, perhaps, have disinclined him from falling into similar obliquities. Another form of his love of truth, as the Bishop of St. David's pointed out, was exemplified by his laborious investigations of abstruse sub jects in which he thought that erroneous doctrines had been propounded. Scarcely any critic has been so syste matically sceptical, and a fine instinct for the discovery of imposture taught him always to suspect error or pretence when marvellous propositions were enounced with unusual gravity and positiveness of assertion. Unless the inhabi tants of Radnorshire exceed ordinary English communities in cultivation, the majority of the audience may probably have;been contented to have received the statements of the Bishop of St. David's, without exercising too independent a judgment of their own on the merits of Sir George Lewis's examination of early Roman history or of the astronomy of the ancients. It was,'llowever, highly fitting that ono of the greatest of English scholars should testify to the learning and literary honesty of the same man who had already been eulogised as a statesman. Regarded from every side Sir G.Lowis produced the same impression of characteristic sincerity and truth. THE "LONDON REVIEW" ON THE LONDON NEEDLE WOMEN.—There have been ncgrophilists who have refused to use sugar because it was slave grown, and who would as soon put on the poisoned shirt of Hercules as wear cotton. But we have never heard of people feeling uncomfortable about their linen because it may have been stitched by the trembling hands of a halt-starved Englishwomen. To he clue, the Englishwoman is free, and the slave :s not ; and a v<sty delightful consciousness it must be to her while she is making shirts at seven farthings apiece that she can take those sev en f art hi ngs into any market she pleases, and buy with them what she likes. As a citiz , an she has certainly the advantage over the slave. She is flee to work or not to work ; no public conveyance, no place of entertainment is closed against h er . Sh e h as the same rights in the eyes of law as a countess or duchess. Yet practically she is no better than a slave and in some respects indeed, not so happy. The balance of evidence is in favour of the belief that the slave is sufficiently fed. That is not the case of the London needlewomen. How these poor creatures manage to exist it is difficult to understand, except upon the explanation that their living is a slow dying mostly ending in death. The cases are not few in which this has been ascertained to be the fact by legal investigation. How can it be other wise:? or, to take another view of the matter, is it sur prising that so many women live upon their personal at tractions when they see the dismal, prolonged ;misery which needlework, the widest field at present open to fe male industry, entails ? On Monday last a woman was charged at Worship-street with pledging six shirts, value 155., which had been entrusted to her to make up. When needlework was slack she went out charing, or rather, we should hope, when charing was slack, she took to needle work ? for charing, though not as refined an employment as needlework, is neither sedentary nor so ill paid. Its emoluments are not indeed large, but there are meals in addition—and even without them the pay exceeds:the pro fits of :shirtmaking. Poor Anne Domangett working all day into the small hours after midnight co ald make six shirts in a day I This we should have thought a good day's work had it been accomplished by machine. But she did it all with her fingers, and the woman who employed her seemed to think that so handy a seamstress should have been above the dishonesty of pawning her employer's goods. But what were the earnings of this poor creature after such a day's toil ? Exactly tenpence ,halfpenny Nay, not even that in clear gain —for she had to supply herself with thread and needles, and, in the evenings, with candle-light. Seven farthings for each shirt was her mu nificent reward—with, perhaps, a clear profit upon the whole day's work of sevenpence. Two considerations arise in contemplating such a case as this. First, the suffer ings of the needlewomen themselves, their ceaseless toil, working their flesh literally off their bones through the long dreary hours, from early morning till past midnight, day after day, month after month, and year after year, if it is possible that flesh and blood can yearly stand such wear and tear. Who can say, knowing that Anne Domangett's case is only one of thousands, that there is not a stern necessity for the efforts which are being made to open up fresh sources of occupation for women ? Here is a worse than African slavery in the midst of us ; a freedom which is perfect, but is yet a mockery. In a metropolis gorged with wealth, shut up in their miserable garrets, thousands of woman are enduring worse toil, with less food, than the slaves on a Southern plantation. This is not only a pitiable thing in itself and a reproach to us, but it exer cises a fatal influence on the morals of young women who see on one hand these white slaves daily wearing out a joy less life, and, on the other, the comparative affluence of those who forsake the thorny path of such ind ustry and purchase freedom from its sufferings at the cost of virtue, This is the second consideration, and it is in one respect the more important of the two. For men who are indisposed to work there is the resource of theft, with the prospect of a prison. For women there is an alternative more terrible indeed in fact, but, wo fear, not so in the unsound judg ment of too many ill-regulated minds. To those who scoff at the efforts made to find women other employment than the wretched labour of the seamstress, this view of th e matter is worth considering. Such efforts tend towards a twofold result, to procure remunerative work for the indus trious, and to makelndustry less terrible in the eyes of those who are not inclined to it. Needlewomen who. after they have undergone a day's work more slavish and exhausting than breaking stones on the highway, have not been able to earn the price of a single wholesome meal, are an anomaly in a civilised and wealthy nation. But the example of their unrequited drudgery preaches a dreadful lesson of discou ragement to their sex. THE " READER" ON THE LATE EARL OP CARLISLE,— The death of the genial and kind-hearted nobleman who expired last Monday afternoon within the princely walls of Vanbrugh's Castle Howard leaves a blank in society which will be felt by all classes. It would be difficult to conceive a character better suited to that position which, especially in his riper years, he seems to have singled out for himself to fill. Amply qualified, by a fine taste and cultivated mind, to shine in his own sphere, the late Lord Carlisle had, moreover, a large benevolence and an innate love of good and beauty for their own sake, which throughout his life— too early brought to an end—were ever widening the circle which shared the benefit of his varied attainments. He was distinguished as a scholar in his youth, and had, in his earlier political life, been accustomed to the solace of literary pursuits during the intervals of business ; bu t it was not until the close of his career as Lord Morpeth in the lower house, in 1848, on his succession to the peerage, that the qualities for which his memory will be most cherished began to be fully appreciated. The offices of state which were then conferred upon him either demanded for their due perform ance the exhibition of those high social qualities which he professed, or they left him leisure to occupy at the same time his chosen sphere of usefulness. As Lord Lieutenant he won the affections of the warm-hearted Irish people by his engaging manners and genial hospitality, and he like wise endeared himself to the shrewd Yorkshire mechanics by the enlightened eloquence and liberality of his public addresses. It is rather of Lord Carlisle than of Lord Mor peth that it is our province to speak. Yet the political capacity of the late Earl may be regarded as bearing on, and harmonising with his social character. His term of office in the House of Commons was passed in troublous times, and there were occas'_ons when firmness as well as temper was necessary to the maintenance of the position he held. But what is mainly remarkable throughout his career is the appreciative tact by which he gained the re gard of all parties alike. Neither on this side of the Irish Channel nor on the other have political or religious dif ferences in any degree lessened the kindly feeling which adheres to the memory of the deceased Earl of Carlisle. Such a power of gaining universal esteem can hardly be consistent with originality of character or great depth of thought; yet it c irries with it a just and (generally) a salutary influence. In the c tso of the late Earl it implied tho conscious superiority of a noble nature, which enabled him to extend a helping hend to his humbler fellow workers, and to give them not only the patronage of his rank, but his friendly aid to become more like himself. To the public at large, beyond the circle of his personal friends, and apart from Ministerial position, he has thus, of late years, been chiefly known as a singularly eloquent speaker and lecturer on social and literary subjects at popu lar meetings and Mechanics' Institutes. These various addresses form an important part of his contributions to literature. George Frederick William Howard was the seventh Earl of Carlisle. He was born on the 18th of April, 1802, and educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where, in the year 1821, he gained both the New digate prize for his English poem " Paestum," and the Chancellor's medal for his Latin " Eleusis," In 1823 he took a first-class degree in the Classical 'Tripes, and shortly afterwards he accompanied his uncle, the late Duke of Devonshire, as aMache to the em bassy to Russia on the coronation of the Emperor Nicholas. In 1826 he was returned to Parliament for the family borough of Morpeth. In 1828 he published a five-act tragedy in verse, called " The Last of the Greeks ; or, the Fall of Constantinople." The work is not without poetic feeling, but it wants dramatic power. The young Lord Morpeth now devoted himself to political life, in which he consistently adhered to the Whig party. In 1829 he took an active part in the passing of the Emancipation Act, and in the ensuing year was returned for the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1835 he became a privy councillor, and from that time till the fall of Lord Melbourne's ministry, in 1841, was chief secretary for Ireland, under the lieutenancy of Lord Mulgrave (afterwards Marquis of Normanby), having in the course of that time the charge of the Irish Tithes Bill, the Irish Municipal Reform Bill, and the Irish Poor Law Bill. Being now freed from Parliamentary duties, he spent a year in the United States and the West Indies, taking a special interest in the slavery question, on the side of abolition, then much less popular than it now is with the upper classes in the North. On his return to Eng land he began the series of his popular addresses at Mechanics' Institutes. A collection of 12 of them has been published (in 1852) in Longman's Traveller's Library, un der the title " Lectures and Addresses in aid of Popular Education." They range in date from 1843 to 1851, and were, for the most part, delivered at various towns in Yorkshire, and on such subjects as "The Benefits of Education," "The 'Union of Labour and Intellectual At tainments," " The Improvement and Development of the Intellect," " The Great Exhibition of 1851," and " The Objects of Mechanics' Institutes." In 1846 Lord Morpeth was again returned to Parliament for the West Riding, and appointed Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests. In October of the same year he delivered an address to the members of the Manchester Athenaeum, which is printed in a collection of speeches on "The Importance of Litera ture to Men of Business," published by Messrs. Griffin in 1852. A speech of Lord Morpeth's on Sanitary Re form, delivered in the House of Commons on the 30th of March, 1847, was also printed and published in that year. In 1848 his lordship was removed to the House of Peers, and in 1850 was appointed ChanCellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, which office ho retained for two years. In the same year he delivered two lectures at Leeds, which are amongst the most esteemed of his works—one on the poetry of Pope, and the other on his own travels iu America. These lectures were printed in 1851, and aro also comprised in Messrs. Longman's volume. Another lecture of the same class, " On the Writings of Gray," is prefixed to a collection of Gray's poems, published at Eton at about this time, In 1853 Lord Carlisle gave further expression to his sentiments on the slavery question in a preface to " Uncle Tom's Cabin," and published another address, delivered at a meeting in aid of evening classes for young men in Lon don and the suburbs. In the same year he was appointed Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen. In June of the same year he left England for a tour in the East, a pleasant account .f which, written in an easy agreeable style ho pub lished on his return borne, in 1854, under the title "A Diary in Turkish and Greek Waters." An edition of this work was published at Boston, U.S., in 1855. His lordship went to Constantinople by way of Vienna, saw the English squadron in Besika Bay ready to sail into the Black Sea, and paid a visit to the Tread. The volume contains pie. turet quo dem iptions of scenery, particularly in the ace count of Rhodes., and in some speculations on the site of Troy; the author's classical tastes leading him to reflect ou the remote past rather than to speculate cn the great modern contest then about to begin, In the following year the Earl of Carlisle was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ire land, in which poet he remained, except during the few months of Lord Derby's second government in 1858, until his failing health compelled his resignation last September. When out of office during the short interval above men tioned, his lordship's pen was again taken in hand. to try THE MIN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 12, 1864. ace more the old trick of verse-making. The result was " The Second Vision of Daniel : a Paraphrase in Verse," in which the noble author attempts to elucidate the original by what he conceives to be the true interpre tation of the prophecies of the eighth chapter of the book of Daniel ; declaring in his preface that "we are on the threshold of great events, and of the close of our present economy," and deprecating the doctrines which Mr. Buckle had recently pro pounded in his work on civilisation. He afro delivered an address at the Social Science meeting at Liverpool in the same year on "Criminals and their Reformation." One of the last occasions on which the late Earl presided was the Shakspere Tercentenary Festival at Stratford-on-Avon last April. Before that time the paralytic affection of which he died had slightly affected his power of utterance, and he had been advised to decline the invitation, But, knowing that the project was not popular, and heartily approving of it himself, he generously made the effort, and proposed the toast of the evening with all his accustomed fluency. Thus the life of the seventh Earl of Carlisle, if it has not shown him as a man of great depth or power, has been ono of acknowledged usefulness in his generation ; and, if his literary works are not destined to carry down much fame to posterity, it must be remembered that the good ho has done could not have been effected except by a man who, to use the words of his political opponent, was " remarkable by his knowledge, his accomplishments, and his commanding eloquence." Opening of the Clifton Suspension -bridge. Thursday was a great day for Briatol and Clifton—in fact, a great day for Gloucestershire and Somersetshire generally, inasmuch as it witnessed the formal completion and public opening of the Clifton Suspension-bridge amid great fes tivity and well-deserved public rejoicing. The long-deferred anticipations of union between the two counties were worthily celebrated on this occasion. The Lords-Lieutenant with the magistrates, sheriffs, and high officials of the two counties were present, The Consuls of various nations, the clergy of the district, the ancient Merchant Venturers of Bristol, with the presidents and office-bearers of Foresters, Druids, Shepherds, friendly societies, and trades, all united heartily to contribute their share of professional grandeur to the day's display. With them, too, were corps represent ing the Naval Reserve, the regular forces, Yeomanry, and Volunteers, so that these, with the chairman and directors of the Clifton-bridge Company, and the large muster of gentlemen who came in uniform of some kind or other, made, upon the whole, a very brilliant show, worthy both of the place and the occasion. Fortunately the wea ther, too, was all that could be wished. It poured inces santly during the previous night, and the morning itself broke chill and dismal, as if threatening a longer continu ance of the long continued rain. Towards the middle of the day, however, it cleared up bright and fine, till the sun shone with t he clear warmth of those spring like days which so often checker the mid-winter of the West of England. The processions, as we have said, were very long, and what is more, very good. All the windows and balconies along the route were thronged; banners were everywhere; triumphal arches here and there; every shop' was closed ; all the bells were ringing ; and in short, all Glocester and much of Somerset gave themselves up to an unreserved and hearty enjoyment of what proved a brilliant and most suc cessful ceremonial. One can hardly be surprised at the enthusiasm which was manifested about the completion of this bridge, when it is remembered that it is fully 200 years ago since the want of such a structure was keenly felt ; it is 111 years ago since the first money was left to carry out the long-cherished idea of the citizens; and it is now 34 years ago since the work was begun. It is not to be wondered at if the Brietolians, who, since their bridge was begun, have seen everything change and everything progress but their bridge, should have come to regard its completion as an unattainable ideal —a sort of phantom project that haunted the shores of the Avon like another Flying Dutchman, now looming dismal and indistinct through a hazs of expended capital, and ever and anon,as the want of the structure was more deeply felt, assuming the clear, sharp outlines of a feasible undertaking —but nothing more. Perhaps for this long-deferred com pletion of their hopes the good citizens of Bristol have themselves been much to blame ; and certainly but for the exertions of Mr llawksLaw and Mr W. Barlow, and the zeal with which they were seconded by the great engineers of the country, it is more than probable that to this day th© massive and now somewhat venerable-looking towers for the bridge chains, put up nearly 40 years ago, would still have remained the useless tokens of a groat idea —landmarks of the insolvency certain to await all coldly regarded public works, no matter how useful. The mere story of the idea of this bridge is somewhat peculiar. In the year 1753 there died in Bristol ono Alderman Vick, and as this alderman had experienced the difficulty of getting across the Avon from Glocesterehire to Somersctshire at any point between the Severn and the city of Bristol he be quoated to the Society of Merchant Venturers the sum of £l,OOO, directing that such sum should be placed out at interest until it should accumulate and increase to LlO,OOO, when it was to be applied to the building of a stone bridge across the Avon from Clifton-down, in the county of Olccester, to Leigh-down, in the county of Somerset. This was the origin of the bridge which has been 30 years building, though how Mr. Vick could ever have imagined that it woe possible to get a stone bridge across such w ohnoin and in euoh a gitliation for £IO,CO it is difficult to conceive. For nearly eighty years the thousand pounds left by Mr Vick was allowed to accumulate; and in the year 1830, when the railway system was:beginning to make itself felt, the citizens of Bristol began to think of the old legacy, and the possibility of applying it to the purpose for which it was left. At that time the money had increased to £B,OOO, and it was resolved to use the amount as the nucleus of whatever SUM might be required to construct the bridge. An Act of Parliament was obtained, and plans were advertised fur, The first esti mate given for a stone bridge was £90,000, or, in fact, about half what it must really have cost; so stone was given up for iron, and Telford, the builder of the Menai-bridge, and the late Mr Brunel competed for the h onour o f g i v i ng a design for a suspension bridge, an d . as mi ght have been anticipated, Brunel gained the day. Mr Brunel's estimate was £57,000, and it was, perhaps, characteristic of the estimates of that great engineer that when £45,000 had been spent only the towers h a d b een built, and the money was gone. His design was a chain b r id ge of. a single span of 700 feet, two chains passing ov er t wo towers, and being anchored deep in the limestone rocks behind tmoney,ve a rint of fund s , an d, though as we have said, was gone, and thescheme propositions. more or less g oo d or b ad, were made to the trustees under the old Act of P ar li ament, t h e bridge r o h a e n m y s all t o o d the still for would not likely have been incomplete to this day, had not the removal of Hungerford become necessary. Mr Brunel, as it happened, had been the engineer e t H unger f or d, an d when therefore the chains had to b e pu ll e d d own an d t o give place to a railway. nothing was m ore na t ura l th an th a t Mr Hawkshave s hould wish to have them applied to the completion of the greatest and most original of all Mr Brunel's bridge designs, except Saltash. For such a pur pose the money was soon 6 forthcomi n - . A new company, under a new act, and presided over by Captain ituisb, was started with a capital of £35,000. The chains of Hunger built by Mr Brunel for the company, f or £2,000. Two ford-bridge were purchased for £e,ooo the stone towers, years ago the work of slinging these chains began, and yesterday the bridge was opened, finished. Taking it as a whole, either with regard to th e p i cturesqueness o f it s situation, or its lofty height and immense span, there is really no bridge like it for beauty in the world, save, perhaps, that erected by the engineer of the bridge across the Niagara (Mr Roebling) at St. J o h n ' s, New B runsw i c k. aTto4Cfoirifdt'os:laennd e Menai-bridge h i d t g e a isn half nearly 200 feet shorter than this its height; that at Fribourg, though longer, is in an easier position to build, and is only 160 ft above the water, instead of 260 ft, as this across the Avon. The Lambeth S uspension -bridge of Mr Peter Bar low has a span of more than I,oooft, b u t i s b u ilt on four piers. St. John's-bridge approaches Clifton in its span and beauty, though not in height, The Niagara-bridge, as be ing used for both road and rail, can scarcely be compared with it. All these, however, ex ce pt th a t a t Menai and Clifton, are wire-rope bridges, which were first much used in France, America, and S w i tzerland. From t h e i r exceed ing liability to decay and injury they are now, however, looked on with less favour in those countries than in this, where they are less known. A short statement of the chief constructional features of Clifton. bridge may not be out of place on this occasion. Some three months back a detailed account of the works appeared in these columns, the greater part of which was copied (inadvertently, w ith out ac k n owledgment) from a clever little pamphl e t a b out the br id ge by M r J. W r i g ht o f Baistol. Yet, thou g h t h is explana ti on a l mos t e x h aus t e d the subject, a brief notice way still be readable. Most people understand how a stone bridge is erected, but the way in which the chains of a suspeuaiou bridge aro got across appears to plizzle many. It is needless to say that the very modern invention of a suspension bridge is only a bridge formed of powerful chains, buried in the ground at their ends, and then built link by link over high towers, the chains being of sufficient strength to support the road and footway afterwards to be hung from them. The chains, or rather jointed iron bars, as they really are, aro built together by joining sideways a series of flat iron bars, or parts of links—ten and 11 bare, an odd and even num ber, alternately composing one lin k ; and the bridge having one, two, or three chains of numerous links at each side, according to the weight it is built to carry and the distance it has to cross. The first thing done is to get the anchorage for the shore- on is of the chains at each side. This at the Clifton-bridge is done by taking down the links no less than 75ft deep into the heart of the limestone rocks, and then building them in with solid masonry. The series of bars composing the links are then embedded at each side, and from these moorings first a thin rope is passed over the towers and across to the other side, then a thick rope is conveyed along the thin, and lastly a wire rope along the thick one. With two wire ropes thus got across a cradle is slung between there, and the workmen can then go on placing and bolting together as they tke a single bar or plank of iron of each link in the chain. The wire ropes are strong enough to support their weight till they are joined in the middle, and thenceforth they sup port themselves. It is then simply a question of the cradle travelling to and fro till all the bars of each link have been added on, every additional bar, making the whole work stronger. In the Hungerford-bridge only two chains were used at each side—the bridge was only meant for passenger traffic, and was only 14 feet wide. At Clifton the bridge is 30 feet wide, and is intended for carriages, so another chain has been added, making three at each side. The chains at Clifton are made up, as we had said, of odd and even numbers, alternately 10 and 11, each bar of each link in the three chains being 241 t. long by 7in. broad and lin. thick. This gives a sectional area of about 460 square inches of iron in the chains, which, at the low estimate of 22 tons breaking strain to the square inch of iron, gives, in round numbers, a weight of 10,000 tons to break the bridge down, The towers over which these chains pass are built after the rough, massive, and, if it must be said, somewhat uncouth style of Egyp tian architecture,—just such gigantic rock' hewn porticoes as one sees at Memphis and Thebes. There aro arched towers 48ft. wide by 30ft. thick, and 80ft. high. On the Bristol side they only go down some 10ft. or 12ft. to meet the rock, but on the opposite shore the shelving conforma tion of the strata requires a pile of masonry 100 ft. high to meet the roadway above it. The bridge, which hangs from the chains over the towers. is made by tie rods 2in in diameter and Si t apart-81 in number on each side of the structure. Each pair of tie rods have sus pended to them the cross girders which carry the floor Of the roadway. These girders are 18in deep and 33ft long, and like all the rest of the work are of wrought iron. The car riage way is 20ft wide, and the footways 51ft wide each. A division 3ft high is formed between the roadway and the footways by two long wrought iron girders 3ft deep by Bin wide, which like two backbones stiffen the bridge from end to end and stop the vibration which fierce storms would otherwise assuredly occasion, as they once destroyed the bridge at St John's. The curve or rise in the bridge is only 21ft at the centre. The saddles or rollers which let the chains move over the towers meet the contraction and ex pansion. During a hot summer day the centre of the bridge has risen 4in from this cause, and the difference between the extreme of cold and heat makes an alteration of nearly lft in the height of the centre. The arrangements made for com pensating this alteration caused by contraction and expan sion are very clearly explained in Mr Wright's pamphlet, to which we have before alluded. He says : " In all iron bridges, of whatever construction, it is ne cessary that provision should be made for the expansion or contraction of tho metal by heat and cold. How this is ef fected in the present case will be seen. Between a strongly ribbed and massive cast iron basement and the main saddle are interposed a double set of steel rollers, 41in diameter and 2ft long, the two sets being arranged side by side in a frame, thus giving a rolling surface of rather more than 4ft in breadth. These rollers allow of each saddle travelling to and fro upon its basement according to the expansion of the chains. To the main or lower saddle arc attached the two lower chains ; above the main saddle is bolted an auxiliary or upper saddle. to which is attached the uppermost chain, There are of course four similar saddles, one for each set of chains at each tower; and the weight of each, with base ment, rollers, &c., complete, is about 30 tons. It has been stated that each chain consists of several links arranged side by side, and this will be understood at once on inspec tion, where the part of the chain attached to the saddle is shown as it would be viewed,from above. It should also be remarked that the chains are rather stronger near the towers than in the centre of the bridge, tho reason for which will be seen at once in the fact that in the centre the links have only to bear their share of the weight of the road, while at the ends they have also to bear the weight of the chains. To a certain distance from the towers, therefore, each chain is composed, breadthwise, of 11inks alternately with 12, while towards the centre there aro only 10 alternating with 11. Why the number of links in the chains is alternately odd and even will be seen at once if three fingers be inter laced between four of the other hand ; the links are ar. ranged in a precisely similar manner." When teste3 the other day with a load of 500 tons of stone on the bridge, the chains moved across their saddles and lowered the crown of the centre seven inches, the chains passing over the saddles an inch and a quarter on each side. When the load was removed the bridge returned to its normal position, nor did the most careful observation with levels detect the slightest change. To all the common modes of observation the whole structure seems as rigid as stone to the passage of ordinary traffic, As we have said, there are two suspension bridges made of wire ropes of larger span than this bridge—the Niagara bridge, and the Fribourg, in Switxerland ; but the Clifton is the longest and highest chain bridge iu the world, and the strongest suspension bridge ever erected. Its strength the following figures will clearly show : Ft. In. Span of bridge Versed side of chains Sq. in. Sectional area of chains at piers ..... ....... 481 Du. at centre of chains Tons. Weight of chains between the piers Do. of roadway Tons. The strain at the centre due to the weight of the chains Do, duo to the weight of the roadway Do, for a load of 701 b, per square foot over the platform Total strain. With this weight theironwork of the bridge is in no place strained more than 41 tons per square inch, which is less than one-fourth of its strength. Taking the tensile strength of the chains at 22 tons per inch, the chains would require a strain of 10,000 tons to break them. If the strain produced by the weight of the chain is deducted, viz,, 1,277 tons, there remains a surplus strength of 9,723 tons. And as a weight of GOO tons upon the platform produces a strain of 817 tons on the chains, it follows that the bridge possesses a surplus strength measured by weight placed upon the platform of about 6000 tons. When we say that all the iron work, wrought or cast, has been supplied by Messrs Coch rane, we merely state that all the metal work is the best and most perfect that can be obtained. Two processions attended the opening ceremonial on this occasion. The civic procession through the city was com posed of all the trades and benefit societies bearing the banners and models illustrative of various callings. This procession, which came early, was immense in numbers, and took nearly three hours to wind through Bristol to the edge of the Clifton ravine, whence they wound down by the " zigzag" to the banks of the Avon. The second was the bridge procession, which came only to do the formal work of opening, and its numbers therefore were restricted to a comparatively small body. The bridge procession, how ever, did not come upon the ground till all the spectators and visitors were assembled—that is to say, till the ap proaches to the bridge were filled, till the heights of Leigh Wood were crowded, and the ledge of steep gray cliffs lined with dense masses of visitors thronging on every point whence a glimpse of the proceedings could be gained. Pre cisely at 12 the bridge procession came upon the ground in the following order : Contractors—Messrs Cochrane and Grove, Superintendent of Worke—Mr T, Airey, and the Bridge Workmen. The Naval Reserve. The North Somerset Yeomanry Cavalry. The Royal Glocestershire Hussars. The Bristol Volunteer Artillery, with six Field Guns and Band. A Detachment of Bristol Volunteer Rifles and Band. Colonel Brunkcr and Staff Officers. Officers of At my, Navy, Militia, and Volunteers in Uniform Field Officers of Volunteer Corps. Consuls of various nations. The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Glocester and Bristol Bishop's Chaplain. Bishop's Secretary. The Very Rev. the Dean of Bristol. The Residentiary Canons. The Incumbentof Clifton. The Incumbent of Christ Church. The High Sheriffs of the Counties of Glocestsr and &morsel The Eight Hon. the Earl of Dude (Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Glocester and of the City and County of Bristol). The Right Hon. the Earl of Cork (Lord Lieutenant for the County of Somerset). The Members in Parliament for the City and County of Bristol. Tho Members in Parliament for the Counties of Gloucester and Somerset. Noblemen and other invited guests. Chairman of the Bridge Company--Mr Mark Huish. Directors : Mr Isaac Allan Cooke Mr John William Miles Mr James Ford Captain Wm. Smith Nicholson Mr Arthur John Knapp. Engineers—Mr John Hawkshaw, DirV. H. Bsrlow. Solicitors—Mr Charles E. `yard, Mr Charles lieorge H. S, Patrick. Secretary—Captain Claxton, R N. Accoantants—Mr John Curtis, Mr W. W. Wbbb. Auditors—Mr James Bush, ➢lr J. T. Pike. The Shareholders in the Company, The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Bristol, attended by The Officials of the Corporation in State. The Recorder. The High Sheriff. The Magistrates. The Aldermen and Town Councillors, Tha Master, Wardens, and Commonalty of the Socioty Merchant Venturers. The Governor, Deputy Governor, Assistants, and Guardians of the Poor. The D.P.G. Master aLi P. G. Wardens of Freemasons. Presidents and Office Bearers of Foresters, Druids Shepherds, Friendly Societies, and Trades. The procession, the chief members of which were greeted with loud cheers, completed the opening ceremony by cross ing the bridge from the Clifton to the Leigh Wood side, amid a grand salute from the Volunteer Artillery, From the Somerset side, the return was made in the same order to the Clifton or Gloucester end, when a halt was called in front of the grand stand erected for visitors, and Captain Huish, the chairman of the company, read the following address "In the year 1753 Mr Alderman Vick, of Bristol, be queathed (in trust) to the Merchant Venturers the sum of £l,OOO to accumulate at interest, for the purpose of building a bridge across the Avon at Clifton. After the lapse of more than 100 years we are met this day to inaugurate the com pletion of the object of this patriotic citizen. Under the careful management of the society the fund amounted, in 1830, to a sum of £B,OOO. In deference to the popular de mend for the commencement, the society of merchants pro ceeded to consider the best means for the accomplishment of the work, and an Act of Parliament for the purpose re. ceived the Royal Assent May 20, 1830. The bridge fund was vested in the Merchant Venturers of Bristol, who unanimously adopted the design of Mr Isambard Kingdom Brunel. A commencement was made in 1831, and on Aug. 27, 1836, the foundation stone of the Leigh Wood abutment was laid with public honours, amid the acclamation of a vast multitude,by the Most Noble the Marquis of Northampton. It is unnecessary to detail at length the difficulties with which the managers of the undertaking had to contend. For years they struggled with the means at their command to complete the work. After ineffectual attempts to rouse pub lic feeling to increased exertion, they succumbed to the diffi culties of the task, and the time limited by the Act for the completion of the bridge having expired in 1853, the under taking was practically abandoned, after an expenditure of £45,000. In this state of ruin it seemed destined to remain ; but in 1860 a concurrence of favourable circumstances in duced the directors of the present company to believe that the time had arrived for making a final effort, Sup ported by the old trustees, encouraged by a revival of feel ing, stimulated by a desire to remove a reproach and honour the memory of Brunel, impressed also with the national character of the work, they obtained a fresh Act of Parlia ment, and aided by a new body of proprietors, they have been enabled in less than four years to finish this grand work of art—a work highly creditable to their distinguished engineers, and calculated to be of the greatest local utility. In thus drawing their labours to a close, and on the occa sion of dedicating the bridge to the service of the public, the directors congratulate themselves on the presence of her Majesty's representatives for the counties of Gloucester and Somerset. They confidently believe that the result of their exertions will be conducive to the public weal, and that the structure which they now deliver over to your Lordships officially to open (a structure as grand in its pro portions and beautiful in its details as it is unrivalled in its position) will form a bond of social union between the counties as enduring as the chains which now for all time indissolubly link them together." At the conclusion of this address, which was loudly cheered, the Bishop of Glocester offered up a prayer for the success and utility of the undertaking, after which, in a few brief words, the Earl of Ducie, for the county of Glocestor and city and county of Bristol, and the Earl of Cork, for the county of Somerset, each formally declared the bridge opened to the public for traffic, amid continued cheers, which were repeated again and again till almost every fore most person connected with the enterprise had received his " three times three." In the course of the afternoon a late itjeuner or early dinner was given at the Victoria Rooms, to which all the chief visitors and the leading gentry of Bristol and its neighbourhood were invited. During the night the bridge was illuminated with the electric light and with Bengal fires, neither of which, however, could show its exquisite outline with half the effect which is derived from the light of day. To see Clifton-bridge to perfection it must bo seen. not only with all the details of the viaduct itself, but with all the beauty of its wonderfully bold and grand surroundings. These can only be seen in bright day light, as they were seen by tens of thousands yesterday— as we trust they may be seen with equal admiration by generations yet to come. Naval and Military Intelligence. Her Majesty's iron paddlewheel sloop Trident, 850 tons and 350-horse power, Commander Charles I. Balfour, from the Mediterranean , arrived in the Thames on Saturday morning , and took up her moorings alongside the powder buoy off Woolwich Arsenal. Having discharged her ammunition in magazine lighters, she hauled up to the T-pier to land her guns, shot, &c., and was inspected by the Cmmodore Superintendent of the port, C ap t, Hugh Dunlop, C.B. She will proceed to-day to the dockyards to strip and to be paid out of corn mission. The iron screw steamship Achilles, Capt. E. W. Vansittart, arrived at Spithead on Saturday morn• ing from Plymouth. On anchoring she exchanged salutes with the Victory, flagship of Admiral Sir M. Seymour, K.C.8., Commanderain-Chiof. The Urgent, screw steam troopship, Capt. Hen• derson, will be undocked to-day, after having un dergone repairs to her machinery. The screw corvette Cadmus, 21, 400-horse power, steamed up from her moorings at Saltpan Reach, Chatham, on Saturday, and brought up alongside the dockyard. She is attached to the first division of the steam reserve until required for the pennant. A movement has been sent on foot by a number of the leading inhabitants of Chatham to bring under the notice of the Government what is consi dered to be a great injustice to the trading and other classes of that port. They maintain that most of the vessels after they ate built and partially equipped are sent from Chatham either to the Nore, Portsmouth, or some other port, where they are fitted for sea, to the manifest detriment and injury of the trade of the town. In proof of their statement the cases of the Achilles, Royal Oak, and some other ships are given, all of which have been constructed at Chatham, but subsequently removed from that pert before being despatched to sea. A meet. ing of the principal inhabitants of the town has taken place, under the presidency of the High Con■ stable, at which it was decided to appoint an influen. tial deputation to wait upon the Board of Admiralty, or other authority, to urge the claims of Chatham to a fair share of the benefits and privileges accruing from the equipment and fitting out of the vessels of war. The Admiralty has purchased a valuable site for a battery on the South Denes, Great Yarmouth, lying between the southern portion of the Marine drive and the Naval Lunatic Asylum. The town council of Yarmouth required £11,300 and the re. linquishment by the Government of the site of a proposed battery to the north of the Britannia pier. The Admiralty offered £lO,OOO and the site of the battery, and failing to obtain the assent of the council gave notice of an intention to apply to Parliament for compulsory powers to acquire the land. The town council then acceded to the terms offered. The whole of the troops composing the division at Aldershott, under the command of Lieut.-General Sir John Pennefather, were ordered out for a field•day on Friday morning, and at half-past 10 o'clock took up a strong position on Thornhill, an eminence on the east side of the South Camp. The D battery, B Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery, and the Cavalry Brigade, consisting of the Royal Dra goons, Scots Greys, and 14th Hussars, under the command of Major• Gen. Hodge, formed up at the base of the hill to the south-west in contiguous columns of squadrons in close order. In their rear were the E and F batteries, 9th Brigade, Royal Ar tillery, and to their right front was a troop of the Royal Engineer Train, with pontoons. The three brigades of infantry, formed in contiguous columns of companies, occupied the summit of the hill. The object of the ,Lieutenant• General appeared to be to check an enemy advancing upon the camp from the direction of Sandhurst, via Cove and Farn borough, and whose light troops and supports, hav ing already taken the north camp, were about to attack the south. For this purpose the position taken up by the division was admirably selected, and to accomplish the anticipated results the 2d bat talion 60th Rifles moved to the front, descended the north-west side of 'l'tiorn-hill, and extended in skir mishing order near the iron church. The Ist batta lion 14th and the 62d Regiment also moved down to the base of the hill, deployed into line, and lay down, while Col. Grey, 85th Regiment (brigadier) with the Ist brigade, and Col. Radcliff, 75th Regt. (brigadier), with the 3d brigade, marched off the hill to the westward, passing through the lower part of the south camp, in the direction of the new permanent bridge. Major-Gen. Hodge proceeded round the south base of Thorn-hill with the Royal Horse Artillery, the Royal Dragoons, Scots Greys, and a squadron of the 14th Hussars, and formed on the right of Gen. B rtes' brigade near the Commis sariat. On the infantry clearing the hill the E battery galloped up and came into action, covering Gen. Bates',brigade. The F battery proceeded with the Ist brigade on the left, two squadrons of the 14th Hussars protecting that flank and the guns. During these movements a pontoon bridge was thrown over the canal in front of the centre of the position. The dispositions of the Generals being complete, the signal gun for battle was fired at 11 o'clock, when the 60th Rifles advanced in skirmish ing order, firing; the B battery at the same time ,t opening a smart cannonade to cover the moveln _ The 14th and 62d Regiments advance d in line In support of the Rifles, who soon became warmly's". gaged. The supports were brought up a nd relie.v.eu skirmishers, who, on reaching the canal elle! bravely defended the pontoon bridge against tef . desperate assaults of the enemy. In the midst e ! this contest the Ist battalion of the 14th Reg. l ment dashed over the bridge, formed line , and hft ! , „ ing thus gained a footing on the north s ide of 017 ent canal opened a sharp file fire. The 62 d Reg,m ga ged 00 quickly followed, and became warmly en the left of the 14th, While these movements viere going on a sharp engagement was proceeding e; the left. The let and 3d brigades had crossed th_ now permanent bridge, and, ably assisted by the Y .r battery, Royal Artillery, made good use of thel , imult s time against the right of the enemy. S o neously with this movement General Hodge9wh had crossed the canal by the C o mmissariat -bridge: could be seen advancing with his brigade en h right. The D battery, Royal Horse Artillerlo' coming up at a gallop, covered by a squadron of th , 14th Hussars, joined in the engagement, now he ,, coming general on all sides, and General Bates .: brigade, coming into line with the Ist and 3d WI gades, a very heavy fire was thrown in by the th ree brigades and by the Royal Artillery. The en ehil e retreated before this concentrated attack , a nd !- h troops ceased firing; but, a further demonstration being made, the brigades halted and threw in ar s more rounds, when the enemy again retired , an d general advance in the direction of Coveeenel e) ,. ° o was ordered. This movement was covered by a lie . of skirmishers flanking the army by the F e . 1.1 1., borougheroad. Arrived upon the common, lionthedivis on in much the same order as before, the artille ry however occupying the high ground in the centre d of the line, and the whole division facing wes tvier t :, The Lieutenant. General now changed posit ion the right, bringing the 3d brigade in line on t h e right, with their right resting on the Farnborough . 0 road; the second brigade forming a second lin e i e rear of the 3d brigade. The three batteries, with th 14th Hussars, on the left of these brigades, and t h e ' Ist brigade, forming the left of the line. nerintgo these movements the Royal Dragoons and the Si, Greys mat euvred in front of the centre to the Pert f wards, then returned by sections from the eig ht . ° 0 squadrons, passing through the guns in Pss iti f b ; and reforming line of regiments in rear of lao cavalry. Brigadier Radcliff advanced his b rigad e and opened fire. Brigadier Grey also opened 0 with his brigade on the left,while the three ba tte r of artillery were firing in the centre. The retre o of the enemy now became complete, and the e ar t h being freed from the presence of the in ve e , " Cease firing" was sounded, and the troops • turned to their respective quarters. Ace The detachments of non-commissioned o f and men selected for service with the compan ies o ft Royal Engineers at the various home statinne on head-quarters, Brompton Barracks, Chatham' Saturday, and proceeded to join the Ist cnin i l vtt Devon port, the 3d company at Portsmouth, the uf and 26th companies at Weymouth, the 7th entur th e at Dover, the 20th company at the Curragb, a n co 29th company at Aldershot camp. In coneeq ue to of the number of men who have been withdrato from headquarters, to augment the companies ante merated, orders have been received for selectionathe be made of a corresponding number of men fr e f 3 hd depot companies at the Royal Engineer estan'n, went who have completed their instruction in 7 . 0 ping and mining and military engineering nn nJA Aeld works, to be draughtod to the various ae ll° o e to take the place of the men who are withdraWn iS home service. The remainder of the Royal Tf if nears at Brompton are now busily employ nor, in cutting brushwood on the Crown lands at vri in order to lay in a large supply to be ne e ' t x making fascines and gabions for the field 11° operations during the approaching season. A gorg e A General order has been issued, date d ah ol Guards, November 29, 1864, by the Field Al - e r ;t h e Commanding-;n-Chief, with the concurrence n' iv g Secretary of State for Indi a i n C ou ncil, autho ris d e e exchanges between officers of the Staff Corps u l) r if the substantive rank o f fi e ld o ffi cers and Pr e P e it h. qualified regimental officers of the same rang , et out reference to the station on w hi c h th e refit ® of the exchanging officer may be serving. t he A requisition was last week presented to art. Secretary of State for War, by the heads of dePi o g ments in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, sni ithl t ile permission to close the entire establishment „, (1/I kr i s ei Saturday preceding and Monday following, v' ve re mas Day, the time to be made up by working ° , e ltOt hours during the present and forthcoming W " o bo and thus affurding tbr.o Luccesaire day s f or serving the Christmas Holidays. COUNTRY MARKETS. NOTTINGHAM--SATURDAY. f r t 1 1 , 46 The quantity of wheat on offer to-day was fair re o time of the year. The demand was moderate , at Pi we! prices. Beans a healthy sale, and the same a s 18°0 40 —White wheat, from 41s to 488; red wheat, 308 Oa t°l Barley—malting, 32s to 35s ; grinding,l27B to 28 8 - j at 40 1 old, at 25s to 308 Od; new, 22s to 255. Beans 801° to 43s per qr. ; new, 37s to 395. n S tove' Flour, fine, 27s to 30s ; super, 32s to 37s per 2,7 LE I CE STE R—SATURDAY. per Old white wheat, 40s to 42s • red, 38s to 448 toleLl stone. New white, 40s to 42s per'36 stone. Malt ilig ia oot new, 30s to 33s per qr.; grinding, 28s to 30s; °"00 0 " 26s to 28s ; new oats, 228 to 25s per 24 stoue,', o toll es old, ;;8s to 42s per 38 stone ; flour, 318 to 39s per Av GRANTHAM—SATURDAY. 3 6010 Old white wheat, 42s to 45s ; red, 49s to 4 30 r e,f or ie rl new white, 40s to 438; red, 38s to 41s. Maltb:l6,A' 32s to 35s per qr ; gri n di ng ,t 28 s to 30s ; oats, r 370. 328; new, 208 to 235; beans, 36s to 44s ; peas, 34 0 v° YRK—SATUDAY. Wo had s better supply R of wheat on offer from togi;prt°' this morning and a very flat trade doing, about 1 6 0 , 4 care /2 Barley a fair show and steady demand. Oats . is , to Wheat, red 38s to 40s Oats.... ....... 400 t ° ,„o White (la Barley .40s to 45s Beans ........... o to s .27s to 32s Peas ......... °our, Malt, 58s to 60s per qr. ; rye, 30s per qr.; to 32s per sack. NORWICH—SATURDAY. e t 1,0 4 P g There was a moderate show of wheat at mar,t7 it y 11 0 ,0 and the trado was marked with the same ina n "';ss late—prices for all good qualities being the aattlete ptic week. There was a good show of barley, and were fully supported. . 369 to 3 0 White wheat. 44s to 45s f Red wheat.... 330 t ° Malting barley 3os to 33s Chevalier baey.. . 24 , to 26 Distilling do 24s to 26a Oats.. ................... Flour, 26s Od to 26s 6d per sack from the CORK—FRIDAY. ; g The following were the quotations this inorox il b oll to wheat, 7s Gd to 8s Id; white, 8s 4d to n Bs 8 d , 6$ ° 3d: to 6s 10d ;:oats, 5s Od to 7s 3d ; black do. , 6s 7d.; bore, —s Od. —FR/DAY. t Wi t° on offer, which W e HI sO s were about made. Oa ts 0. 0 a to 13 o O a Beanst m e . a . 1 ........... ° 0 t t 0 0, Bere ......... o to Rapeseed •• • • 1 4 oto o v Bakers' flour•• • Indian corn • • DUBLIN A small quantity of wheat limited sale, and previous cater other articles slow. s. d. a. d. Wheat, white.. 22 0 to 23 6 Do., red .. 20 0 to 21 6 Do., new 0 to 0 Barley Oats Do., black., lO 0 to 11 0 ______ Births. % to l‘ebirCif BARTRUM.--On the 9th inst., at Bradford, ^-r E.—On the 7th '.n ' s ,o Mrs. A. C. Bartrum, Sh oo tof ata dlaußgahrtreirn.gtortvinso, po GAG Hill, the Hon. Mrs. E. Gage,: of a 80n. , the lir° GOSLING.—On the 10th inst., at Welbury, 11°1. ' 6 of Francis Gosling, Esq., of a daughter. reS , Marriages. ~ i f 8 S ur Or Li jpophlLLcidodeilel,sEoNsq.tocuonithmeathdeir itt..,Nat.,Soki•-° '0 aide t e ldest t h e o d J a o u h g n h L te id r d o e f ll ih K e faCte.BG.,eotrogeSycclanreeyw Boliibzoacbue:boti "orodst° of f ' Brook, Surrey. , oiseg ONSLOW—ALLARDICE.—On the Bth inst., 0. 0 0 10' Lieut. H. C. Onslow, R.N., sdecendisioynceofialitaieku!ti:;:4Aco°l`; C. Onslow, of 28 Leinster the eldest daughter of Wg.al.enAllaidiee, Write Signet. B L E Y , T c r : — 0 f 0 7, n i t i h a e 9th ins D t, , ea a t t Deaths. Ken 110614 P' l3lltill 10 614 reilteu-place, Piccadilly. ,_ 130 1 BRANDON.—On the 7th inst., at Church-fatreett green-toad, Joshua Brandon, Esq., aged 8 '• or CO ' BROWN.—On the .thßer7cli,nEets.,qa.ttaLgietdtled..bingdont 11 COLEGATE.—On the 7th inst., at Greenwich, 116111 Col'''. gate, Dacre,E : 1 s . q ' . a , g a e g d ed 77 7 . 7. vse%, 00 04 DAenE.—On. the 9th inst., at Stratford.greent GOrgi"9" WREATLEy.—On the 9th inst., at Worthirg, oestle eldest daughter of the late General Sir 0. Bart. t o; London: Print,ed and. Prblialted by LIA of No. 112, Strand, Printer , at 10E SUN OL.C'-',„ oty v Strand, in the Precinct of ' the Sivoy, iv the -*'° Miatilguez,—Dlonday, ..DecenitMi 12, 1E64,